The German Village Art Crawl is happening this Saturday, July 18, from 5 pm to 9 pm along Macon Alley in the heart of German Village. It's a fun evening, with 30-some artists hanging out in garages along the alley, local restaurants offering nibbles, and live music. Your admission fee ($20) gets you tickets that you redeem for nibbles and sips at the food sites. And there are lots of restaurants in the area to go to before or after the Crawl if you need more than a nibble. The people who live in German Village love a party, and they are gracious hosts and very nice folks. I am lucky enough to have the same wonderful hosts as last year (yay!), which means I am in the same location as last year. I have to say, as an artist, this is probably my favorite event to do because it is so much fun...and I spend the whole evening in a garage! Just imagine the fun you can have out there, walking around...eating good stuff....sipping some libations...shopping for art, or just looking at it...hanging out with the good people of German Village. I almost wish I were you! Click here to read all the info from the source and to buy tickets. I hope to see you there!

One day last week, my mom handed me an article she had clipped from the Columbus Dispatch with a recipe for a concoction that removes skunk odor from dogs should there be an unfortunate meeting between dog and skunk. I took it, thinking, "That's a good thing to have, but I probably won't need it because my dogs have never encountered a skunk." After last night, my response would now be, "That's great! I'm going to commit it to memory, and I will always have these ingredients on hand."

Does that mean someone got a skunk bath last night? Yes, indeed. Little Maggie woke me at about 4:30 in the morning, crying to go out, so out she went. Teddy came along, too. Maggie led the way, and as I observed from the corner of our enclosed back porch, I was surrounded by intense skunk stink. I thought someone had struck a skunk along Clark State Road, which is not unusual. Then I noticed Maggie shaking her head vigorously as she headed toward the back of the yard. I thought that was weird, but then I was distracted by watching Teddy, who didn't act as if a strange animal had visited the yard. He just quietly went about business and returned. As Teddy came in and I went back in the house to wait for Maggie, it occurred to me that the head shaking and the skunk smell could be related. (Yes, it took me a while, but it was 4:30 in the morning...)

Oh, yeah...I picked Maggie up in a towel because the grass was wet from rain, and then it was beyond abundantly clear that she was wearing a dose of skunk squirt. Oh, where did I put that article?

Well, I couldn't find the clipping right away, so I found the article online. Thank goodness. The recipe works, pretty much instantly. So here it is: 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup of baking soda, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of liquid soap.Don't worry if you don't have a full bottle of hydrogen peroxide...just use what you have and hope that your big dog was spared the spray.

If you have been that close to a dog covered in skunk spray, you will probably smell skunk for the next several days because that smell is so deeply embedded in your nostrils you can't get away from it, and that smell has wafted through the house as you carried the dog to the sink or bath, but your dog will smell fresh and clean. After I coated Maggie with the magic potion, I shampooed her. The only lasting effects of the incident for Maggie are a fear of her doggie ramp off the deck where the incident happened and the nickname "Little Skunkface."

Every time Art and I are in the car and we pass an area where skunk smell lingers after a driver has hit an unsuspecting skunk, Art tells me that if our dogs ever get sprayed, he won't be able to wash them because the smell makes him physically ill. Ah, my delicate little flower....So, I knew I would be the one scrubbing Maggie down with the magic potion. But I didn't want Art to miss out on our first skunking experience, so I woke him. He was a rock star of support, gathering ingredients and searching the backyard for the offender (twice!).

I've always dreaded my dogs encountering a skunk, but now that I have the recipe for the magic potion, I know it will be okay. I am now going to the store to restock on hydrogen peroxide, and I vow to never be without the three ingredients. Here's Maggie ready for her touch up bath--there's some lingering stink around her snout, which is kind of difficult to apply the magic potion to, as I don't want to get in her eyes, nose or mouth. Teddy, as usual, is ready to assist: